Regeneration
by doctorwho29
Summary: The Eight Doctor sees his final moments and the Ninth sees his first.
1. The Final Moments

**Note: My old readers probably noticed some typos along the way. Well I've gone back and corrected them just now; an author's work is never truly finished after all.**

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><p>The Final Moments<p>

The Doctor sat in his armchair in the console room of his trusty TARDIS. The room was magnificent; a large chamber of stone with shelves, desks, exotic plants, and even a library. It was extremely inviting with the appearance of a very cluttered but very cozy home. However the beauty did show harsh signs of reality here and there. In places the walls held smudges, cracks, and dents. Some sections of wall looked melted but not quite breached. Pieces of furniture had been demolished or even burned to cinders but the remains had not been cleared up. The library, where the Doctor now sat, was littered with torn and shredded books. The once beautiful TARDIS had been marred by the Time War.

The Doctor observed all of this with a stony expression. Long gone were the days of freely traveling and having grand adventures with his many friends. Long gone even was his own care free, happy-go-lucky attitude toward life; the harsh events leading up to and encompassing the war had stolen all of that from him.

The Doctor shivered and a single tear fell from his eye.

Images of the Time War raged through his mind. He remembered that he had tried to avoid the conflict but had witnessed the death of that poor child by a Dalek. Soon after that he personally led an army of Time Lords into battle. So many battles, so many deaths. His own hands were soaked in the blood spilt by the terrible, senseless battle. He had tried and failed to save many. He had tried to save Romana when the resurrected Rassilon had ascended to the position of Lord President. He had even tried to save his enemy Davros in the first year but the Nightmare Child had other ideas. That was so long ago…

He was shaken out of his thoughts by a loud beep issuing from the console in the center of the room. He knew he was approaching his destination; he stood, walked to the console, and input a few final commands. He glanced up at the screen which read Destination: The Medusa Cascade ETA: 1 Minute

Suddenly the Doctor flipped another switch and the ceiling became encompassed by a hologram of the constellation of Kasterborous. The image zoomed in on a beautiful burnt orange planet. This was Gallifrey; his once beautiful home. He thought of the silver forests, the twin suns, the beautiful fields he and his old dear friend played in so many lifetimes ago. Oh what a bright and shining childhood he had enjoyed on that planet with Koschei, later known as the Master. He had raised a family on that planet, his granddaughter Susan had been his first companion.

The bell sounded again and the TARDIS stopped moving. He had arrived at his destination but could he do this. Could he cause night to fall forever on that mighty planet? The tears were falling in earnest now. The war was raging out of control. The universe had become Hell itself; infested with the Deathsmiths of Goth, the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Could've Been King and his Army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres, and the Nightmare Child. Countless people were murdered, ressurected, and murdered again every second but was it worth it? Even with all of this raging on could the Doctor actually commit this terrible but necessary act?

He collapsed to the floor weeping openly. "IT'S NOT FAIR!" he screamed.

"No it's not" a familiar voice spoke.

The Doctor looked up and saw an elderly woman in Time Lord robes standing nearby. His heart swelled with emotion as he looked at her; emotions both wonderful and terrible.

"My precious Doctor you have been so brave. You must now show more courage than you have ever shown before as you do what you know is necessary to halt the insane plan of Rassilon. But do not weep for me; I accept my fate with no regrets. Now go and do quickly what you have to do my dear Doctor, no my dear _ "

He gazed deeply into her eyes and felt himself move beyond tears. He rose to his feet in silence; he had no words for her and yet words were not necessary. He picked up the heavily modified De-mat gun now known as The Moment. He flicked the switch that opened the stone doors and walked towards the outer police box doors. He paused and looked back; the woman was gone. Taking a deep breath the Doctor opened the doors.

The TARDIS was hovering in the very heart of the Medusa Cascade where the great rift was located. The Doctor hoisted the gun and took aim for the rift itself. He stood there, a silent statue preparing himself. Without warning he screamed "FORGIVE ME" and pulled the trigger


	2. Death

Death

The rift violently imploded upon itself as it sealed. The Doctor's scream joined the screams of countless Time Lords as they filled his head. He could see it as he staggered back into the console room; Gallifrey exploding silently but so very, very brightly. Time itself trembled as great planet burned in multiple dimensions of reality all at once. The TARDIS itself was violently rocked by the back lash. The Doctor barely noticed furniture bursting into flame and walls beginning to crumble as he slammed against the sparking console. The Eye of Harmony was dying with Gallifrey; all that released energy was pulling the TARDIS apart.

The Doctor felt nothing but pain. His brain felt like it was on fire as he felt each individual Time Lord die. In his disorientation the Doctor entered a few feverish commands and sent his dying ship flying through the vortex. The screen momentarily read _76 Totter's Lane _before shattering. The ship shook and tore even more violently as it forced itself to make the voyage.

The Doctor screamed like a mad man. He couldn't take the pain in his mind; he wanted to die just so it would end. As a desperate distraction he focused on the pain his body felt. Gallifrey's fallout wasn't only burning his beloved ship…

Pain in his mind, pain in his body; the Doctor was the living embodiment of pain. He glanced down at his hands and noticed that they were glowing. However he was unable to process exactly what that meant. The only vaguely coherent thought in his mind was "It's over. The Time War is…" Everything became black oblivion.


	3. Despair

Despair

I.M. Forman's junkyard was filled with a strange wind and a whooshing noise as a charred and smoking Police Box appeared. One of the doors opened and out stumbled a very disorientated man with very short hair, a large nose, and large ears. He glanced around the junk yard with almost no recognition. He walked like a zombie to the large gates and passed through them. The man looked around at the Londoner's walking by as if everything were fine. Didn't they realize that everything had ended, that the suns had set forever?

The Man staggered down the road as if he were drunk. People stared at his Edwardian era clothing but he took no notice until he bumped directly into a man near a building development.

"Excuse you!" the Londoner said

The Man looked at him with the eyes of a dead man and uttered "They're all gone, I'm the only one left"

"Um…what?"

"They're all gone, I'm the only one left"

"Who are all gone?"

The Man in the strange clothes shivered and looked at the bewildered citizen like he had only just seen him "They're all gone, I'm the only one left"

"Um…oookay. I think I'll just be going now."

Another man passing by asked "Hey Steve, who's your friend?"

"I don't know. He's acting very strange…I think he's drunk."

The Man suddenly convulsed and said "They're all gone, I'm the only one left!"

"Right well I hope you find them" Steve and his friend left very quickly.

The Man gave a cry and began to run. He turned into an alley and tumbled to the ground. Tears streamed from his eyes as his body shook. He suddenly vomited and the sick was followed by a strange glowing fog. The regeneration was going wrong, they all went wrong...but what did that matter? Nothing mattered anymore.

The Man continued to convulse and silently cry as two bewildered children looked stepped into the alley and looked upon him with fear and concern.


	4. Rebirth

Rebirth

"Mister…are you alright?" the girl asked tentatively stepping forward.

"Careful Lily" the boy advised.

"He needs help James" she touched The Man on the shoulder and he froze. "Are you alright?"

Her kindness pierced his mind in a strange and wonderful way "No"

"Do you need a doctor?"

"I am…no…food…I want…food"

"Here" the boy named James ran forward offering a brown bag and thermos "There's a banana and some tea."

"Tea?" The Man attacked the offered meal with a vengeance. He drained the thermos in one gulp and sighed. "Tea always helps, it helps so much…" he wolfed down the banana and sighed with pleasure. "Ah that's good. Bananas are good…"

When he didn't speak for a full minute Lily asked "Um…how are you now?"

The Man looked at the children as if he had only just realized they were there "Uhh…better…I think…"

"I'm James and this is my sister Lily. Who are you?"

"I'm nobody."

"Everybody is someone" Lily said

"Well not me" The Man seemed very angry "Thanks for the food." He stood and began to walk away.

"Hey wait!" James yelled but The Man ignored him. "Well he's rude…" He froze because his sister was being dragged away by a scary looking man who had come from nowhere. "LET HER GO!"

The kidnapper dragged her away with surprising quickness and James followed at a run. "Leave her alone! Help Police!"

Nobody came and James thought he had lost her. He heard her yell again and turned a corner. Her attacker was pinning her to the ground with one hand while the other elongated into talons "What a nice meal you'll be."

James attacked the alien in a blind rage but was thrown off. "Oooh a second course has shown up." James found that he couldn't move; he was going to have to watch this grisly event.

"Oi you." The Man was walking forward with an expression like a brewing storm.

The alien was confused "You should be paralyzed!"

"And yet I'm not." He punched the alien in the face with terrible force. "You picked the wrong day mate"

The Man beat the alien to a pulp and threw him against the wall. He grabbed a piece of broken glass off the ground and made a movement towards the alien's throat.

"STOP IT!"

The Man turned to see the frightened children. A wave of self-revulsion swept over him and he looked back at his pitiful victim. He dropped the glass and said "Leave this planet now. Go home and never return. If I ever catch you causing trouble again I won't be as nice."

The alien nodded and touched its watch. It vanished and The Man turned to the children. "Are you alright?"

Lily seemed unable to speak but James said "I think so"

"She'll be fine don't worry. Go home, forget about school today. Just watch telly, have some hot cocoa, just relax, you'll both be fine."

They nodded and Lily said "Thank you sir, you saved my life."

"Well that's at least something good that happened today. Actually it's the best." He straightened up and said "To answer you're earlier question, I'm the Doctor." He began to walk away.

James called "Where are you going?"

"To rebuild a Police Box. See you."

As the Doctor returned to Totter's Lane he thought about what he had just done. Regardless of what he'd done this planet still needed him. He had to carry on, she would want him to. The Doctor actually managed a weak smile as he resigned himself to face an uncertain future with a stiff upper lip for the sake of his new home, the Earth.

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><p><strong>Well what do you think? I'd be very happy to hear your thoughts. Oh and yes Lily and James are not random names; I'm in a Harry Potter mood.<strong>


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